It may have taken three-plus months after spring training was suspended by the coronavirus—but baseball is officially back.
This after the Major League Baseball Players Association and the owners ironed out the final details yesterday ahead of a return to play, one that will see players report to camps by July 1 and play a 60-game season starting on either July 23 or 24.
The last hurdle was an agreement on health and safety protocols
"All remaining issues have been resolved and Players are reporting to training camps," the last night.
The regular-season schedule will feature both divisional and inter-league play, where teams will only play within their corresponding geographical division in order to mitigate travel. The league also said the majority of teams are expected to conduct spring training in their home cities.
"Major League Baseball is thrilled to announce that the 2020 season is on the horizon," MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "We have provided the Players Association with a schedule to play 60 games and are excited to provide our great fans with Baseball again soon."
And if baseball is back that means something else is—gambling on it.
Which is why moments after the league said they were good to go, Caesars Sportsbook in Vegas said the Yankees and Dodgers even better to go with to win it all as each reopened as 7-2 favorites to win the World Series title. The Astros are third favorites at 11-1.